POLYMER BASED COMBINED KERB DRAINAGE ELEMENT AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SUCH

Abstract

A polymer based combined kerb drainage element (1) and a method for manufacturing such are provided. The combined kerb drainage element (1) comprises a first moulded component (2) having side walls (2a, 2b) that define a first longitudinal channel and a second moulded component (3) having side walls (3a, 3b) that define a second longitudinal channel. The side walls (3a, 3b) of at least one of the moulded components (3) are linked by a living hinge (4) such that said hinged side walls (3a, 3b) can be aligned with the side walls (2a, 2b) of the associated moulded component (2) to construct the combined kerb drainage element (1) with an internal conduit (16).

Claims

1. A polymer based combined curb drainage element comprising: a first moulded component having side walls that define a first longitudinal channel; and a second moulded component having side walls that define a second longitudinal channel; wherein the side walls of at least one of the first or second moulded components are linked by a living hinge such that the hinged side walls are configured to be aligned with the side walls of the other moulded component to form the combined curb drainage element with an internal conduit.

2. The combined curb drainage element of claim 1, wherein the polymer comprises mouldable plastic material.

3. The combined curb drainage element of claim 1, wherein a side wall of the first moulded component comprises at least one aperture that, in use, allows water to enter the internal conduit.

4. The combined curb drainage element of claim 1, wherein side walls of the first and second moulded components are provided with complementary engagement means that co-operate to retain the alignment of the side walls in the combined curb drainage element.

5. The combined curb drainage element of claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional area of the longitudinal channel of the second moulded component is greater than that of the first moulded component.

6. The combined curb drainage element of claim 1, further comprising at least one anchoring portion configured to retain the combined curb drainage element in position relative to surrounding ground works once such has the surrounding ground works have been installed.

7. The combined curb drainage element of claim 6, wherein the at least one anchoring portion is adjacent to or coterminous with a region on the combined curb drainage element where the side walls of the first and second moulded components engage one another.

8. The combined curb drainage element of claim 6, wherein the at least one anchoring portion comprises a longitudinal protrusion that extends away from a length of a main body of the combined curb drainage element.

9. The combined curb drainage element of claim 8, wherein the longitudinal protrusion defines a leading edge with a plurality of apertures located between the main body of the combined curb drainage element and the leading edge.

10. The combined curb drainage element of claim 9, wherein, in use, the leading edge protrudes from a back of the combined curb drainage element.

11. A method of manufacturing a combined curb drainage element, said method comprising: moulding first and second components each having side walls that define longitudinal channels, wherein at least one of the moulded components is provided with a living hinge between the side walls thereof; bending the hinged moulded component such that the side walls of the first and second moulded components align with one another; and securing the first and second moulded components together to construct an integrated combined curb drainage element with an internal conduit.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the longitudinal channel defined by the second moulded component has a greater cross-sectional area than the longitudinal channel defined by the first moulded component.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first and second moulded components are moulded from a mouldable plastic.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the first and second moulded components are secured together by a sealing means that ensure the connection between the moulded components is watertight.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing at least one aperture in the first moulded component.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing at least one anchoring portion to the combined curb drainage element.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing the side walls of the first and second moulded components with complementary shaped engagement means configured to structurally strengthen the connection formed between the first and second moulded components.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] The present invention will now be described with reference to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, wherein:

[0039] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view from the front of a preferred embodiment of the combined kerb drainage element of the present invention;

[0040] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view from the back of the combined kerb drainage element shown in FIG. 1;

[0041] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional diagram of the preferred embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 in situ adjacent a road;

[0042] FIG. 4 shows the stages involved in constructing the combined kerb drainage element of the preferred embodiment from its component parts; and

[0043] FIG. 5 shows a comparison of the capacities of the internal conduits provided by a combined kerb drainage element known in the art and the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0044] The present invention relates to an improved combined kerb drainage element formed from moulded polymer components. It is envisaged that provided the material used to form the combined kerb drainage element is mouldable is considered to fall within the scope of the present invention, in so far as in is a material that comprises polymers such as recycled and virgin plastic materials. In view of this it is envisaged that the polymers may be mixed with additives, such as mineral fillers (e.g. calcium carbonate, talc, etc.) or fibres that aid with stiffness of the moulded product. Such polymer composites, provided they can be moulded, are considered to fall within the general teaching of the present invention.

[0045] Only those features of a combined kerb drainage element considered relevant to the description of the present invention will be referred to in detail. However the person skilled in the art will appreciate that further features may be added to the described design without departing from the general concept of the present invention.

[0046] In order to aid the description of the preferred embodiment the majority of the provided figures show the combined kerb drainage element on its own without any surrounding ground works. Only FIG. 3 shows the combined kerb drainage element in situ.

[0047] FIG. 1 shows a combined kerb drainage element 1 from the front thereof. Throughout the description any references made to the front of the combined kerb drainage element are intended to relate to the portion of the combined kerb drainage element that abuts the ground works that make up the road.

[0048] Conversely, any reference to the back of the combined kerb drainage element is intended to relate to the portion of the combined kerb drainage element that abuts the ground works that make up a pavement or pedestrian walkway, for example.

[0049] The term ground works is intended to refer to any structural component that forms part of the road or pedestrian areas that the kerb serves to delineate. This term will be further described in relation to FIG. 3.

[0050] The combined kerb drainage element 1 shown in FIG. 1 is made up of two moulded components. The first, upper component 2, in use, is at least partially exposed above the ground. The second, lower component 3, in use, is buried within ground works.

[0051] The first component 2 has side walls 2a and 2b which run along the length of component with a longitudinal channel running there between. Similarly the second component 3 has side walls 3a and 3b which run along the length of the component with a channel there between.

[0052] Side walls 2a and 3a align with one another at connection point 6. Similarly, side walls 2b and 3b align with one another at connection point 7. Both connection points run the length of the combined kerb drainage element 1. The connection points 6, 7 are sealed using, for example, adhesive, a hot melt, induction loop welding, hot-plate welding. Other suitable technologies will be appreciated by the skilled person.

[0053] In order to further strengthen the connection points 6, 7 the abutting ends of the connecting side walls (i.e. 2a with 3a and 2b with 3b) are provided with a tongue and groove arrangement. However it is envisaged that alternative connection arrangements might be employed without departing from the general concept of the present invention.

[0054] The second, lower moulded component 3 is provided with a living hinge 4 that facilitates the relative pivotal movement of side walls 3a and 3b. As will be described in more detail later, this pivoting action facilitates the construction of an internal conduit 16 (see FIGS. 3 & 5) with a cross-sectional shape that would not otherwise be achievable using standard moulding techniques.

[0055] The first, upper component 2 is provided with apertures 5 that provide access to the internal conduit 16 from outside the constructed combined kerb drainage element 1. As will be appreciated from FIG. 3, the apertures 5 are located on the portion of the first component 2 that is not buried when installed adjacent a road/pedestrian area. In this way water can flow off a road and into the conduit of the combined kerb drainage element from where it can be disposed of.

[0056] The combined kerb drainage element 1 is provided with anchoring means 8 on the front face thereof. The anchoring means 8 take the form of a bulged portion which protrudes away from the main body of the combined kerb drainage element 1 and helps key it is position within surrounding ground works (e.g. concrete). This interaction can be seen in FIG. 3 and will be described in more detail below.

[0057] The bulging portion of the anchor means 8 and connection means 7 are coterminous, in so far as they are co-located. This arrangement is considered particularly advantageous because it enables the contact surface area formed between the ends of the associated sidewalls 2b and 3b to be maximised.

[0058] In addition, when the combined kerb drainage element is in situ, the surrounding ground works (e.g. concrete) can act upon the sidewalls 2b, 3b to retain them in contact with one another, thereby strengthening the overall structural strength of the combined kerb drainage element 1.

[0059] Turning now to FIG. 2, which shows the back of the combined kerb drainage element 1, a second anchoring means 9 will be appreciated. Anchoring means 9 comprises a rib, with a leading edge, that runs longitudinally along the length of the combined kerb drainage element 1. However, it is appreciated that in an alternative arrangement multiple rib portions may be spaced longitudinally along the back of the combined kerb drainage element in place of a single continuous rib.

[0060] A plurality of apertures 10 are provided between the leading edge of the rib 9 and the main body of the combined kerb drainage element 1. In use the apertures 10 allow the surrounding ground work, for example concrete, to get behind the rib 9 and, in doing so, further anchor the combined kerb drainage element 1 within the surrounding ground works.

[0061] Also visible from the back of the combined kerb drainage element 1 are structural reinforcement means 11, which take the form of multiple horizontally oriented ribs. The ribs 11 are spaced equally along the back of the combined kerb drainage element 1. Preferably the ribs may also run underneath the underside of the combined kerb drainage element and rise up at least a portion of the front of the combined kerb drainage element 1. The skilled person will appreciate that this arrangement of the ribs can be varied depending on the inherent structural strength of the materials used to construct the combined kerb drainage element.

[0062] As outlined above, the moulded components 2, 3 that come together to construct the combined kerb drainage element 1 can be formed from virgin and/or recycled plastics. Thermoplastics and thermosets are considered particularly suitable; with, polyolefin such as Polyethylene and Polypropylene of particular note. As detailed above, these plastic materials can be mixed with other additives to achieve further benefits without departing from the general concept of the present invention.

[0063] Turning now to FIG. 3, which show the preferred embodiment of the combined kerb drainage element in situ within surrounding ground works, the anchoring features of combined kerb drainage element 1 can be better appreciated.

[0064] The entire second, lower component 3 of the combined kerb drainage element 1 is buried within a concrete haunch 12, which in turn abuts against associate pavement support structures (not shown). The concrete haunch encloses both anchoring means 8, at the front of the combined kerb drainage element, and anchoring means 9, at the back of the combined kerb drainage element. In this way the combined kerb drainage element 1 is firmly held in position with the haunch 12.

[0065] The person skilled in the art will appreciate that anchoring means 8 and 9 co-operate to ensure that the combined kerb drainage element 1 is prevented from tilting or twisting when struck from the sides. This improvement will be appreciated when compared to the known design of combined kerb drainage element, an example of which is shown in FIG. 5.

[0066] The road, which runs adjacent to the combined kerb drainage element 1, is formed from layers of ground work. The lowest layer 13 is typically crushed limestone or similar, the top of which aligns with the front portion of the base of the haunch 12. Above this layer is provided the base course 14, this layer abuts against the front face of the combined kerb drainage element and help hold it and the haunch 12 in position.

[0067] The final top layer is the wearing course 15. This layer, which forms the road's surface, is aligned with the apertures 5 of the combined kerb drainage element so that any water run-off from the road can enter the internal conduit 16 of the combined kerb drainage element and flow away. This helps keep the road free from flooding.

[0068] The construction of the combined kerb drainage element 1 will now be described with reference to FIG. 4, which shows the key construction steps for forming the combined kerb drainage element from the first and second moulded components 2, 3 of the preferred embodiment.

[0069] In the first step the second moulded component 3 is produced using standard moulding techniques (e.g. casting, compression moulding, rotational moulding, injection moulding, forming, etc. . . . ) with a living hinge 4 provided between side walls 3a and 3b. At this initial stage the side walls generally project away from each other so that the moulded product can be easily removed from its mould.

[0070] In the second step the side walls 3a and 3b are folded in towards one another such that they go past parallel and are inclined towards one another. The living hinge 4 ensures that the walls do not come too close together.

[0071] Once side walls 3a and 3b have been folded the first, upper component 2 is brought into contact with the second, lower component 3. The living hinge 4 enables the side walls of the second component to be adjusted to ensure they align with the side walls of the first component. Once the first and second moulded components 2, 3 are aligned they can be secured/sealed together using a suitable connection technique (i.e. adhesive, hot melt, etc.).

[0072] One of the key benefits of the combined kerb drainage element 1 of the present invention is that it can be constructed with an internal conduit that has a non-uniform cross-sectional shape. This flexibility of design enables the capacity of the conduit to be increased below ground without requiring the upper exposed portion of the combined kerb drainage element to be increased in size too.

[0073] A comparison of the combined kerb drainage element of the present invention with a known combined kerb drainage element design is provided in FIG. 5, from which it can be clearly seen that, although both combined kerb drainage elements are of a similar height, the embodiment of the present invention has a greatly increased drainage capacity (roughly 40%) over that of the known design.